What We Think: Portman chooses son over ideology

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman has stirred up controversy on both sides of the aisle for reversing his position on same-sex marriage. The Ohio Republican announced last week that he believes that the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman and which he co-sponsored in 1996, should be repealed.

The announcement came, not coincidentally, after he learned his son is gay.

What was political suddenly became intensely personal for Portman.

While South Louisiana is likely not ready for legalizing same-sex marriage, Portman's reversal appears to be one more indication that the tide may have begun to turn on this subject in other parts of the country.

An Associated Press article reports that about 100 high-profile Republicans have come out in favor of marriage equality.

Calling for the reversal of the Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, are 212 Democrats, including about 25 who initially voted for it.

And in the next few weeks, that could happen. Portman's change of heart came just as the U.S. Supreme Court gets ready to hear arguments on two same-sex marriage cases. The Defense of Marriage Act will come before the high court March 26-27. California's ban on gay marriage, commonly known as Proposition 8, will also have its day in court this month.

Sentiments on the subject, for the most part, are clearly split on party lines, the AP story reports. All 21 attorneys general who submitted legal briefs in favor of upholding the California ban on same-sex marriage were Republican. All 14 attorneys general who submitted briefs opposing the ban were Democrats.

Congress and the legal system are not the only institutions that are split over the issue.

Urging the high court to uphold California's Proposition 8 are the Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention, the Mormon church and Orthodox Jewish congregations.

Supporting same sex marriage are Episcopal bishops in California, the United Church of Christ and the Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism, according to the AP.

And that political and moral split is probably representative of the general populace, as well.

Except for Portman.

This father of three who voted three times to deny gay couples in Washington, D.C., the right to adopt, has taken heat from both sides for his abrupt conversion to the cause of gay rights.

He is getting criticism, understandably, from fellow conservatives for what they see as a betrayal of one of the most firmly-held of their beliefs.

He is also being called a hypocrite, among other things, by liberals, who seem to feel his conversion is too little, too late. Some question whether it's genuine because it came from a father's love for his son, rather than from some ideological epiphany.

But isn't that how many people have let go of their most cherished beliefs? Through a personal experience or empathy for someone close to them?

But however he came to it, Portman's turnaround is another example of what seems to be a growing trend. In his own words in a Columbus Dispatch column, he is "like millions of Americans in recent years" to change their minds. He also wrote that he wanted to offer the "stability of marriage" to his son and other same-sex couples.

Some Americans share Portman's new-found opinion that overturning the ban will simply extend to same-sex couples the same protections afforded heterosexual couples. Others believe fervently that lifting the ban will destroy marriage as an institution.

We will watch with interest, as undoubtedly will millions of Americans, the actions of the Supreme Court in the coming days.

Whichever way the court rules, one thing is almost certain: The fight will not be over for either side.

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What We Think: Portman chooses son over ideology

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman has stirred up controversy on both sides of the aisle for reversing his position on same-sex marriage. The Ohio Republican announced last week that he believes that the Defense